A warrant has been executed by the Bari investigating judge against nine suspects from the province of Foggia. The investigation links three murders to the historic feud between the Romito-Lombardi-Ricucci and Li Bergolis clans. Four of the suspects were already in custody.
A new development in the investigation into the long and bloody Gargano mafia feud. This morning, July 6, 2026 , officers from the Carabinieri Special Operations Group (ROS) , with the support of the Foggia Provincial Carabinieri Command, the "Puglia" Carabinieri Helicopter Squadron, and the Central Protection Service, executed a precautionary custody order against nine suspects from the province of Foggia.
The order, issued by the Preliminary Investigations Judge of the Court of Bari at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the context of proceedings still in the preliminary investigation phase, concerns individuals believed to be involved, in different roles, in the commission or in the preparatory and subsequent phases of three separate murders that occurred between 2011 and 2016 in the municipalities of Manfredonia and Mattinata.
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Three murders linked to the historic Gargano feud
According to investigators' reconstruction, the three crimes can be traced back to the historic conflict between the mafia organizations "Romito-Lombardi-Ricucci" and "Li Bergolis" , a mafia war that for years bloodied the Gargano area with numerous murders and attempted murders.
The precautionary order frames the bloody events within the context of the violent feud between the two criminal groups, believed to be the root of the escalation of violence that has long characterized the Foggia area.
Two cases of "lupara bianca" and a mafia ambush
The three contested episodes include two murders, dating back to 2011 and 2016 respectively, characterised by the so-called “lupara bianca” method , a criminal technique consisting in hiding the victim's body to prevent its discovery and hinder investigations.
The third episode, which occurred in 2014 , is instead described by investigators as an armed ambush with clear mafia origins.
The connection with the "Omnia Nostra" investigation
The investigation represents a further development of Operation Omnia Nostra , conducted by the Carabinieri ROS and relating to the activities of the mafia organization between June 2008 and July 2022.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, three of today's suspects have already been definitively convicted under the abbreviated procedure for the crime of mafia association pursuant to Article 416-bis of the Criminal Code, as members of the "Romito-Lombardi-Ricucci" organization.
Three other defendants , however, are still undergoing trial having chosen the ordinary procedure.
Wiretaps, collaborators of justice and scientific investigations
The prosecution's case is based on a complex evidentiary framework composed of numerous investigative elements, including:
- telephone and environmental interceptions;
- technical-scientific surveys and forensic investigations;
- convergent statements from various collaborators of justice;
- images acquired by video surveillance systems;
- results of searches and seizures;
- results of previous sentences that have already become final.
According to investigators, these elements would have allowed them to reconstruct the roles played by the individual suspects in the various criminal episodes.
Among those receiving the precautionary measure are also four individuals already detained , to whom the order was notified directly in prison.
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